Fourteen Americans have been placed under temporary quarantine at a military facility in New York after returning from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where officials are responding to a major Ebola outbreak. Health authorities said none of the travelers were showing symptoms of the virus, and there is no known risk to the public at this time.
The group arrived in the United States through Canada and was transferred to Fort Drum as part of precautionary health measures. Federal officials said the quarantine is intended to monitor travelers who recently spent time in areas affected by the outbreak, which has led to heightened screening and travel restrictions for people returning from the region.
The current outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, has sickened thousands of people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. While Uganda has reported imported cases, health officials say there has been no sustained community transmission there. Ebola spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person and does not spread through the air like influenza or COVID-19.
U.S. health officials continue to emphasize that people infected with Ebola become contagious only after symptoms develop. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises travelers returning from affected areas to monitor their health for 21 days and seek medical care immediately if symptoms such as fever, severe headache, vomiting or unexplained bleeding occur.
